THE funeral of former Henley mayor Tony Lane will take place on April 1.

His coffin will be paraded through the town in a horse-drawn carriage before a noon service at St Mary’s Church in Hart Street.

The cortege will start at funeral directors A B Walker & Son in Reading Road before travelling along Duke Street to Market Place, then along King’s Road, Baronsmead, Bell Street, New Street and Thames Side North to the church in Hart Street.

His ashes will be interred in the churchyard next to singer Dusty Springfield, which were his last wishes.

Mr Lane, 87, has also paid for a lasting memorial to himself.

The cobbler, who died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on March 1, lived almost all his life in Henley. He was a Conservative member of Henley Town Council between 1965 and 2002 and was mayor for a record four terms between 1971 and 2002.

Donations in his memory should be made to St Mary’s Parochial Church Council.